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Publisher's Summary

One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the Western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians.

The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world.

Toward that end, May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetimes.

Author Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.

What the Critics Say

"Fergus lets his imagination go wild and creates a journal of one of his ancestors who became one of those brides in 1875. Laura Hicks renders this imaginative work splendidly. She is vivacious and expressive as May Dodd." (Audiofile)

I did not realize that this was a work of fiction until after I completed listening, but regardless, this is an incredible story. The main character of May and her friends are all completely 3 dimensional. Loved the narration. This is a beautiful, well crafted work of historical fiction.

This book took me back to the late 1800's and how it was for the native americans in those days. This book treats them with the respect they deserve. I loved the voice of this book both the narrator and the story!

A fascinating story well told, if you're one of those who can actually suspend disbelief. I always think I'm not, but I do get caught up in the tale.

The fact that the scenario is entirely implausible lurks behind every scene, but a memorable cast of characters does emerge. The heroine is good-hearted, iconoclastic, rebellious, loyal, strong and funny, and the "history" rings true.

The language waffles between attempting to sound authentically mid-19th century, as one would expect in a personal journal, and quite modern, as in "God, Martha, that would be very low on my list of priorities." Still, an entertaining and predictably tragic story.

I like this reader very much. Pleasant voice, good characterizations, and no creepy transgender voices when reading the male characters' lines.

If you're looking for an entertaining story, by all means, have a listen. But if you read to fight insomnia, this is not your choice. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night after I finished the story.

I would have given this book 5 stars but there are some problem with the recording. The story and the narrator are very good. Audible needs to audit the recording and fix the garbles, missing spots, etc.

This book was such a surprise, I have told so many people about this. It tells a piece of history that is never mentioned in American History Class. History of women, mental health treatment, our American Indians. We still have much to learn from the American Indians.Only 138 years ago women were traded for horses-in America- and many women thought that was a good bargain. I laughed and cried. Thank you for writing this most memorable and important book.

This cannot be called historical fiction. There's nothing historical about it. Fiction? Yes. But more like a romance novel. The writing is awful.

If this had not been our book club selection this month, I would have stopped after an hour. That's about the point when you start wondering if it will get better. Nope. The writing never improves and the characters stay one-dimensional.

Save yourself a credit and listen to something else that's worth your time. This book is not.

I expected the everyday details between the white women and the Native Americans these women had chosen to marry as their lives moved forward. Instead there is not much conversation at all in this book, context is taken from "journals" written by one of the woman. There were some dramatic moments, funny situations and characters that made me laugh, it is just too bad more character development or time was not spent to make the novel much more interesting. I would start to care about certain characters, but then the story would curve and we would never hear much about that person again. The novel seemed very unrealistic, and as if it had huge holes in it. I would not recommend it.

I have recently started a long commute and decided to start listening to audio books to help with long drives. My friend had recommended this book, as she had just finished reading it. She had told me it was a non-fiction account of a white woman who was sold to Indians. OK, so that description is more than a little off! Still I enjoyed the entirely fictional account of a group of white women (and one black) and their touching and often heartbreaking venture into the Cheyenne Indian culture as part of the Indian Bride program.

The voice actor that voiced the book was amazing - giving each character a distinct sound. She truly brought life to the words and made the book an enjoyable listen. I couldn't wait to turn it on.

I hesitate to give it 5 stars, just because it is often violent and has a less than upbeat ending, but I did love it!

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